Steam pipes under back porch that are exposed to cold

Joe The Homeowner

Looking for opinions on this.

I have a back porch off the kitchen of my 1913 house that we have recently renovated and insulated etc. However, there is no foundation underneath.

We were able to install a half bath by hooking up to the water lines in the kitchen and running the toilet line through a hole in the foundation wall.

Question: I have steam heating in the house. My plumber tells me that we can tap into the steam system and run lines through the foundation wall and under the renovated porch and install 2 small Burnham Cast Iron baseboards.

He's a skilled plumber and everything he's done for me has been A1. However, do I risk any freezing pipes if I do this? If I can do this, is there any way to insulate the pipes from the cold?

Thanks for your help,

Joe

Al Letellier_9

steam pipes

We do that a lot up hea in No.New England, ayuh. IF you possibly can, run the lines in the floor joist space, use at least 1 1/2" fiberglass insulation on the pipe and then enclose the pipes with batt fiberglass and cover everything with boards or plywood to make a tight pipe chase. Make sure there is plenty of pitch so the condensate will get out of there ASAP and you should be alright. If you can't get them up in the joist space you will have to build a tight, well insulated box to protect from freezing.

Joe The Homeowner

Al,

Many thanks for the advice. I'll try that.

Joe